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Turn a Goblet

From the Archives:

At the April 2002 meeting Mike Wickham gave a very interesting demonstration of goblet turning. Those who made it to the meeting may have been lucky enough to also pick up one of his leaflets, telling you how to do it. If you weren’t there, you missed an excellent demonstration but to tickle your appetite, here is the article from the leaflet:

Starting Off

Rough down a suitable hardwood log with a 3/4” roughing out gouge. True up the tailstock end to suit the chuck to be used. Mount securely. Once chucked, true up again if necessary and mark out the main features.

Cup

Hollow out the cup with 1/4” and / or 3/8” gouges and finish off with a scraper to achieve a good finish. Then pare down the outside of the cup a 1/4” more than the hollowing out to 1/8” proud of the anticipated stem diameter. Shape the outside of the cup and polish both inside and outside of the bowl / cup before starting on the stem.

Stem and Base

Shape stem using a 1/4” beading and parting tool and gouge as necessary. Shape the top of the base. Polish and finish.

Base

Part off and mount on a suitable ‘Jam’ chuck (internal or external, depending on how confident you are about the thickness of the walls to withstand the pressure) made out of the piece left over or a ‘softer’ wood and jam the chalice onto it. Use a sharp 1/4” gouge to cut a slight concave in the base, taking only a thin or fine cut at a time and in one ‘sweep’. Finish/polish.

Finishing

Instead of an ornament, it is possible to have a usable chalice by utilising a suitable plastic coating (say Rustin’s) It will take about four coats - follow the manufacturers instructions.

Chucking

Throughout, I used a woodscrew chuck and two 1 1/4” No 14 screws for extra security, unsupported by the tailstock (of course).